A lot of them, such as Ping.fm and Tweetdeck, are probably familiar to most of us. Others, like TwitHire and Twubble, not so much. Sifting through it all can be a challenge. So, to help make things easier, I’ve searched the Web, combed through the blogosphere, and rummaged through my del.icio.us bookmarks to sort and list some of the best Twitter sites and services the Net has to offer. This is by no means a definitive list, but I think it’ll serve us bloggers, Internet marketers, entrepreneurs, and social media junkies well.

I’m sure there are some good, and probably a few essential, services that I forgot to mention. If you know of one I missed, perhaps one you’re using, please let us know in the comments section. Domo arigato.

Your Twitter community is your life line. The strength of your community determines overall what you will (or won’t) get out of the microblogging platform. What do you want to use Twitter for? I wanted to build a community where I could engage in dialogue, stay ahead of the social media curve and share some laughs.

I just shared my objective with you. What’s yours? Start with your community objective and then go for it. Use the 10 tips below as your guide to grow the community which benefits you (and your audience).

Last night I taught a class to a roomful of journalists about how to use social media. About 25 of us or so gathered in one of the first-floor conference rooms at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

In two hours, we discussed everything from how to search for groups on Facebook to all the reasons it’s so important for journalists to come out from behind their byline, go where their readers are, and talk to them.

To prepare for the class (and give people a taste of what I was talking about) I asked people on Twitter to share whatever tips they might have for journalists looking to break in to the social Web. I put out the request in a big public tweet and also sent direct messages to several journalists, bloggers, students, professors and media mavens I knew would have something valuable to say.

I put the tips up on the overhead during the class and highlighted a few in the beats between slides and questions. When we were done, I realized only I could see all the tips, and it would just be silly to keep it that way. So without further ado, here’s what some great people on Twitter advise us journalists keep in mind as we tackle social media. Follow their Twitter links to see who they are …